Draft 1 - Sexual Activity and Phases of the Moon

II.Relevance
For our topic of sexual activity and the moon, many researchers have presented data. Not only have scientists weighed in on the issue, but so have thousands of poets, essayists, and the general population. As long as things have been written the moon has been seen as a symbol of passion and fertility. Research on this topic, including the menstrual cycle (see Cutler, “Lunar Influences…”) has been heavily documented and will play a large role in our own study.
In terms the larger field of moon study, thousands of articles have been published on various topics. From our research, we found articles about animal behavior, tides, business sense, and many others. The moon has been studied in detail for almost every aspect of life. Some think that the moon may, in fact, influence almost everything we do. Our question hopes to provide another piece of the puzzle that is the moon’s influence.

III. Materials and Methods
Our experimental design is statistically based. We have devised a survey to be distributed throughout Miami University Campus. Every Monday we will allocate our surveys reflecting on the previous weekend. Our survey consists of five questions:
1. What is your gender?
2. Did you engage in sexual activity this weekend? [Note: This does not necessarily mean sexual intercourse, kissing counts!]
3. If yes, please answer the following: *Was this person a boyfriend/girlfriend? *Did you consume alcohol before this occurred? *Did your partner consume alcohol this evening?
4. If no, please answer the following: *Please list any circumstances that may have been a factor (you were sick, moral/religious convictions, long distance relationship, etc.):
5. Women: Were you menstruating this weekend?
We will then take the gathered information from the surveys and compare the dates of sexual activity with the phases of the moon, in particular throughout the month of October. We have acquired a calendar of the moon phases through the Internet. The phases fall on the weekend, 1st quarter Moon on the 6th and 7th, the Full Moon on the 13th and 14th, the 3rd quarter Moon on the 20th and 21st, and finally the New Moon on the 27th and 28th. This comparison will either prove or disprove our hypothesis.
Our background information consists of past studies conducted and personal reflections through the published works of art and literature. From the beginning of time humans have sought out the mysterious moon and questioned its relevance to their lives. One such correlation has been with sexual behavior or often referred to as love.

We will ask the class to aid us in calculating our results and for discussion on the personal opinions of sexual activity in correlation to the moon phases. We value the added insights our classmates may add to our experiment and the ideas they may surface that we otherwise would have never considered, thus expanding and improving the quality of our project.

Time Line:
Monday, October 9th-distribute first survey.
Monday, October 16th-distribute second survey.
Monday, October 23rd-distribute third survey.
Monday, October 30th-distribute fourth survey.
Have all surveys collected by Friday, November 3rd.
Tuesday, November 7th, have class calculate results and participate in subject- based discussion.
Data Sheets kept separate by date:
Gender
Male
Female
Sexual Activity
Yes
No

If Yes:
Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Consumed Alcohol
Partner Consumed Alcohol

If No:
Answers may very.
Women:
Menstruating
Not Menstruating

Our testing and conclusion will be entirely based on the survey answers, thus ensuring an unbiased result on our behalf.

IV. Results:

We do not have the preliminary results from our work done to date.

We will first look at the when our subjects reported increased sexual activity. Our goal is to see if sexual activity increases on the full moon. We suspect it does. If this was not the case for our subjects we want to know why. We have included questions about religious beliefs and whether or not that person was intoxicated in any way on the days when they partook in sexual activity.

We feel that the best way to display our results will be with a line graph like this one. We would have a bar for people getting play and one for women menstruating, maybe others if need be.

V. Conclusions

At this time, we have no conclusions.

VI. Periodical Bibliography

Arnett, Bill. “The Moon.” Nine Planets Aug. 2000: 1-3.

Berman, Bob. “As the Moon Turns Our Dark Neighbor Makes Some August
Mischief.” Discovery Aug. 2000: 1- 2.

Cutler, Winnifred. “Lunar Influences on the Reproductive Cycle in Women.”
Athena Institute (1987): 1-7.

Delavallade, Annette. “Research on Moon’s Effects Could Illuminate Behavior.” Capital District Business Review. 23 June 1997. American City Business Journals, Inc. 1997.

“How the Moon Affects Us.” AstrologyNow Online: 3 October 2000

Rotton, James. "Moonshine." Skeptical Inquirer: May/June 1997

“Solar System Guide: Moon.” StarDate Online Sept. 2000: 1-2.

“Touring the Moon With Binoculars.” SkyWatch (1998): 1-3.

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